BSP, SP hash out seat-sharing formula for western UP, which includes RLD as well

Eleven of the 22 Lok Sabha seats in western UP have gone to the account of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), sources said. The RLD will contest from three seats in western UP.

Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav announced the alliance last week. (Photo: Facebook/AkhileshYadav)

HIGHLIGHTS

• The BSP is expected to contest from 11 seats in western UP
• The SP will get eight seats and the RLD will get three
• The mahagathbandhan does not include Congress

In its bid to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) have hashed out a seat-sharing formula for the western part of the state. The formula includes the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) as well.

According to sources, half of the 22 Lok Sabha seats in western UP have gone in the account of the BSP.

The BSP is expected to contest from 11 seats in western UP, and the Samajwadi Party will contest from eight seats.

On Wednesday (January 16), RLD vice-president Jayant Singh had a meeting with Akhilesh Yadav, after which the party was given three seats. It was reportedly also decided that one of the party's candidates will be on SP's election symbol. According to sources, the seat-sharing formula has been fixed for all three Lok Sabha constituencies of western UP.

The BSP and the SP have decided on a ratio of 38:37 seats for the upcoming election. The two parties, however, will not field any candidate to oppose Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi on their respective Lok Sabha seats.

Rahul Gandhi is a Lok Sabha MP from Amethi and Sonia Gandhi from Raebareli.

Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav, while announcing the alliance last week, said the decision to exclude Congress was taken after they realised that allying with the Congress has not benefitted them in the past.

BSP will contest election from the following 11 seats in western UP:

Noida (BSP)

Ghaziabad (BSP)

Meerut-Hapur (BSP)

Bulandshahr (BSP)

Agra (BSP)

Fatehpur Sikri (BSP)

Saharanpur (BSP)

Amroha (BSP)

Bijnor (BSP)

Nagina (BSP)

Bijnor (BSP)

SP will contest Lok Sabha elections from these eight seats in western UP:

Hathras (SP)

Carana (SP)

Moradabad (SP)

Sambhal (SP)

Rampur (SP)

Mainpuri (SP)

Firozabad (SP)

Eta (SP)

Chaudhary Ajit Singh's party will contest from these three seats in western UP:

Baghpat (RLD)

Muzaffarnagar (RLD)

Mathura (RLD)

SOURCE